Upromise

Upromise is a Newton, Massachusetts-based company that provides a loyalty program of the same name, where members accrue credits on eligible purchases that are directed to a college savings plans or to pay down student loans. Upromise members accrue account credit on eligible purchases from grocery stores, online retailers, travel, and restaurants. Members can direct their earnings into a high-yield savings account or tax-deferred 529 plan, use it to pay down eligible student loans or request a check as the money is not required to be spent on college-related expenses.

Upromise, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryMarketing
FoundedNewton, Massachusetts, United States (2000 (2000))
FounderMichael Bronner
Headquarters
Newton, MA
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
David O'Connell (President)
ServicesLoyalty programs
ParentProdege
Websiteupromise.com
Footnotes / references
Key people[1]

In May 2020, the company was acquired from Sallie Mae by El Segundo, California-based loyalty marketing company Prodege.[2]

History

Upromise, Inc. was co-founded in 2000 by Michael Bronner, David Fialkow and Jeff Bussgang after 529 plans were legislated by Congress, which allowed consumers to save money for college in tax-free investment accounts.[3] The Upromise Rewards program was introduced in 2001.[4] In 2002, Upromise created Upromise Investments as a brokerage firm to manage the 529 college savings and investment plans.[5]

In 2006, Upromise, Inc. (including both the rewards and 529 businesses) was acquired by Sallie Mae, the leading U.S. education finance company with over 10 million borrowing customers.[6] A co-branded Upromise and MasterCard credit card was introduced in 2001 and began with Citigroup as the card issuer. Citigroup sold the Upromise card to Bank of America in 2008, and in 2012, Sallie Mae dropped Bank of America and sold the credit card to Barclay’s.[7]

In 2012, Upromise settled privacy complaint charges with the FTC regarding Upromise’s TurboSaver Toolbar.[8] Upromise officials said the problem was the vendor of their toolbar and was unintentional, with only a small percentage of users affected. The company halted data collection by the TurboSaver toolbar in January 2010 and replaced it with a new toolbar application called RewardU with FTC-compliant measures and safeguards, including consent and privacy disclosures for shared information.[8][9] The company dropped support for the RewardU toolbar in January 2016.[10]

In 2013, Upromise Investments was acquired by Ascensus. Upromise Investments is now known as Ascensus College Savings and is no longer affiliated with Sallie Mae or the Upromise rewards program.

As of 2014, the rewards program has helped users earn over $850 million towards college education costs by sweeping the rebates accumulated into savings and 529 plans.[11] Through a partnership with 529 plan administrator Ascensus College Savings, Upromise enables its members to deposit program earnings directly into their 529 accounts. As of November 2015, account holders had direct deposited $250 million of these cash back earnings into their Ascensus 529 college savings accounts.[12] Some users have expressed the program’s benefits as useful for those who put in the effort and spending, but not necessarily as beneficial for those who did not put in an effort to use the program to its full potential. About.com Family Vacations noted that the program was a "win-win" for parents using Upromise to purchase family vacations.[13] However, some critics of the Upromise program pointed out that as of 2008, the average member had earned only $47 toward future college expenses, and that to accrue this amount, the participant opted into a highly detailed purchase-tracking system, with information sold by Upromise to subscribing marketers.[14]

In May 2020, Upromise was acquired from owner Sallie Mae by loyalty marketing company Prodege.[2]

Products and services

Upromise Inc. operates a loyalty program called Upromise Rewards. Members can earn rebates at registered grocery stores, retail locations, restaurants, and online shopping sites through the Upromise online shopping database and by registering their credit cards with their rewards membership.[15] Upromise also offers a credit card to earn cash back for college expenses or to help pay down eligible Sallie Mae student loans.[16][17]

Members are then able to direct all of their rebates into savings accounts or tax-free 529 savings plans, or simply request a check for their earnings, though the program does encourage users to earn and save for college.[18]

Earning rewards

A member can shop directly through the Upromise site and earn up to 5% cash back. The rebates, which vary depending on the purchase and partnership, automatically post to the member’s Upromise account.[19] If a member wants to dine at a participating restaurant, an online search tool keeps updated lists of participating restaurants and details exactly how much they will earn.[20]

Upromise members’ family and friends can also register and have their earnings transferred to the member.[21]

Offline, members can also earn cash back rebates at various participating locations. For restaurants, users can earn 5% cash back of the amount spent on meals. As of 2004, the program had over 10,000 participating restaurants and 20,000 participating grocery and drugstores.[22]

References
  1. "The Upromise Leadership Team". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  2. "Swagbucks Owner on a Buying Spree, Picks Up Upromise". Dot.LA. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  3. “Upromise 2002, 2013
  4. “Upromise Loyalty Program Offers College Savings Plan.”, 2014.
  5. “A Killer Idea Upromise’s Concept is Brilliant”, May 22, 2014.
  6. “Sallie Mae Completes Purchase of UPromise”, May 22, 2014
  7. “BofA Dropped by Sallie Mae as Barclays Wins Upromise Card”, May 22, 2014
  8. “Upromise Settles FTC Privacy Charges”, May 22, 2014
  9. “Upromise Agrees to Settle FTC Deceptive Trade Practice Charges”, May 20, 2014
  10. "Welcome page behind user login". Upromise. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. "Grandparents Race to the Rescue of College Fund". Your Money. May 21, 2014.
  12. "Ascensus College Savings Account Holders Earn a Quarter-Billion Dollars Through Upromise by Sallie Mae | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  13. Suzanne Rowan Kelleher. "How to Save Money For College Every Time You Go on Vacation". About. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  14. Anne Kadet (April 2, 2008). "Can Upromise Ease Parental Anxiety Over Tuition Bills?". SmartMoney Magazine. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008.
  15. “Upromise Adds Mall Networks to Shopping Services”, August 11, 2014.
  16. “The Upromise Mastercard”, May 21, 2014.
  17. “The Promise of Upromise”, May 21, 2014.
  18. Grose, Thomas K. (2006). "Spend Your Way to College". U.S. News & World Report 141.24.
  19. “How it Works.”, May 22, 2014.
  20. “How it Works.”, May 21, 2014.
  21. “Get Reward U.”, May 22, 2014.
  22. “Upromise Dining Program.”, June 10, 2014.
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